i am sorry for being a pain in the arse but i just dont have a solution yet.
earlier on i went to inspect my sierra uprights and realized i just couldnt be bothered to work on them. JoelP was right.
so i will be off to scavenge to the local (and not so local) scrappies in search for cortina or escort uprights.

now, is the cortina the taunus in europe? if not, would the taunus work? as the car was from more or less the same era.
if not i'll search for escort Mk1 (or mk2??) but i know these are VERY rare.

i wonder whether the uptights from later escort models (i.e Mk2 on) are useful.

and (sorry about this) but ARENT THERE OTHER CARS WITH SIMILAR UPRIGHTS? aaaarghhh! millions of cars and only two in the world are useful. (yes, yes the mustang too, but come on). the 2CV? Transit?

finally where can i get ahold of cortina uprights from the uk? i think rallydesign does them, but is there anywhere else that ships to europe?

comments appreciated
thanks.

The term 'Rocking Horse Sh*t' springs to mind . Cortina uprights do come up from time to time on ebay. It's just a case of watching out for some at the right price (and if they're willing to ship outside UK). Expect to pay at least £50 + shipping unless you are really lucky.

yes the taunus was the euro cortina.escort uprights used macpherson struts so probably no good.you could try raceleda for lightweight uprights and hubs,but its not a cheap option.

ok... probabilities of finding something have shot up now that the taunus has come in
thanks!

The old granada is another option so I hear. Well, it'd better since that's what Ive got!

There are other cars with useable uprights, although the geometry will vary, so you will have to work out your control arm lengths to suit.
You can try:
Mazda MX5 (miata) - which is what I am using
Toyota hiaca or liteace vans
Triumph Spitfire
Hyundai Stellar (some years same as Cortina)
Others.....

Good luck
Rob

so the miata ones work?!
seems a bit weird such a modern car, and its uprights work. so with the miata, there is no reaming and blablabla, just adjusting the control arms and whatnot as you said?

I think mnr also do a cortina upright replacement, no idea on cost though, and as said before, if you keep to the cortina arrangement, it will allow you to use light weight hubs

Jason

If you can find an 85-86 Hyundai Stellar the uprights are and exact match to the Cortina, I am using them, brakes are Girling even though they are stamped HMC (Hyundai Motor Car). The Transit van drag links fit as well.

quote:

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Originally posted by robertwa
There are other cars with useable uprights, although the geometry will vary, so you will have to work out your control arm lengths to suit.
You can try:
Mazda MX5 (miata) - which is what I am using
Toyota hiaca or liteace vans
Triumph Spitfire
Hyundai Stellar (some years same as Cortina)

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"so miata ones work?"
not without some engineering on the uprights (my solution - details on www button below) or a radical remodelling of the front of the chassis. Problem is that rack is in same plane as bottom 'bone - I remounted the TRE on top of the steering arm to get cortina-ish setup. Existing chassis pickups un-modified.
Bob

quote:

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Originally posted by robertst
so the miata ones work?!
seems a bit weird such a modern car, and its uprights work. so with the miata, there is no reaming and blablabla, just adjusting the control arms and whatnot as you said?

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quote:

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Originally posted by MikeRJ

quote:

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Originally posted by robertst
so the miata ones work?!
seems a bit weird such a modern car, and its uprights work. so with the miata, there is no reaming and blablabla, just adjusting the control arms and whatnot as you said?

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I think you have blown the work required to modify the Sierra uprights out of all proportion. The only work they need is reaming the lower ball joint hole with a suitable taper reamer. An engineering company should be able to do this for you. At the top you simply buy some "mushroom" adapters from one of the kit manufacturers.

The cortina/taunus uprights are of course even less work as this is what the car is designed for. If you use the Sierra or Cortina/Taunus uprights you can also buy your wishbones if you don't feel confident/inclined to make them yourself.

If you choose some other less commonly used upright you will undoubtedly have to redesign the wishbones and probably the steering rack mountings, which would be a lot more work than the Sierra uprights would ever cause.

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Hi,

Also the Vauxhall chevette is talked about.
For Europe incl. Spain
it was the Opel Kadett-C or the Isuzu Gemini.
USA: Pontiac T1000, Chevrolet Chevette. Aus: Holden Gemini,

The Opel Manta uprights could be used.

I bought although taunus uprights 10 Euro's incl brakes!
Be carefull the type taunus 12M/17M is not right. You need the TAUNUS MK1,MK2 or MK3 (then came the sierra 1983 with mc pherson)

Grzt

thanks t.j. i'll have that in mind.

are the cortina Mk5 ones the right ones? i'm bidding for them right now.

quote:

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Originally posted by robertst
thanks t.j. i'll have that in mind.

are the cortina Mk5 ones the right ones? i'm bidding for them right now.

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just been to the scrappies and found what appears to be a 1968 granada (the vin plate says 1968). but then i found out the granada was introduced in the 70s.
anyway, i inspected the uprights and they seem almost a carbon copy of the cortina ones.
then i searched the forum and the consensus is that they are too heavy.
but hey, they fit, and in the true locost spirit why buy the cortina ones from ebay for 100 quid when i can get these for 10?

are they REALLY not that reccomendable?
thanks

please... anyone? i'm about to get them

If the hubs are 4 stud get them and make them fit, £10 is good.

The absolute “no no” to granny hubs are a bit of a mystery to me too. They are heavier, have about the same odd geometry as the cortina and in worst case you will have to make a new bolt circle. If you can live with that, have a go. I've seen them on GT40 replicas, so they can't be that bad.
Opel Manta/Ascona B (some kind of Vauxhall in UK) have hubs that can be used too, it will take a little more engineering to adopt them but no more then a sierra hub takes. Better geometry but “wrong” bolt circle.

My old garanada hubs are 5 stud, but I picked up some merc wheels that are a perfect fit, so it wasn't a problem for me. However, this could be the mystery thing against using them. However, I was once told that a bearing change would allow you to use cortina hub carriers and discs and therefore 4 stud wheels. Choice is yours.

WAHOOO!!!! THEY ARE CORTINA ONES!

didnt really know what model it was as the badges were missing. and there's like five of them!

got both uprights complete and also got a fiesta thermostat housing. but not the thermostat itself as it seemed to be joined to the cylinder head....

what else can i get from the cortina?

thanks to everyone!

WAHOOO!!!! THEY ARE CORTINA ONES!

didnt really know what model it was as the badges were missing. and there's like five of them!

got both uprights complete and also got a fiesta thermostat housing. but not the thermostat itself as it seemed to be joined to the cylinder head....

what else can i get from the cortina?

thanks to everyone!

The prop should come in handy.

the propshaft?! isnt it too long? or cant i just use the sierra one?

If you are determined to make your own proshaft rather than buy a custom one, then whatever donor you use, the propshaft will have to be modified. The Sierra prop is a two piece design with an intermediate support bearing, not really suitable, though the splined gearbox end UJ and the flanged diff UJ could be hacked off and welded to a suitable bit of tube.

Note that a propshaft is a safety critical item, the welding has to be of the highest standard, and the UJ's must be precisely aligned and square with the ends of the tube. You do not want a broken prop flailing around inside the car...